Secret Alliance by Lero

09/04/26

The Plot:

The romantic thriller Secret Alliance, written and illustrated by Lero. Follows the high school girl, Eun Sian. She is popular with the girls, being surrounded by them. Unfortunately for her, though, it just happens that she is terrified of men, not being able to communicate or even be near one, due to her mother's obsession with protecting her. Meanwhile, Eun Sian has made a friend, Yuri, a purple-haired beauty who seems to admire her. But it seems that Yuri's admiration for Eun Sian seems to be something more, and that she is willing to have her to herself. Will Yuri's admiration turn into obsession?

Mocha's note:

Hi everyone!!! I haven't been reading any manhwas or manhuas recently. Or mangas lately O_O. Recently, I have been watching a few anime (Jujutsu Kaisen, Charlotte, Diabolik Lovers) and am currently reading a danmei (Mao Dao Zu Shi), which I will review once I am finished. The manhwa Secret Alliance, on the other hand, is an older read from when I was around grade 8, so I may not remember much. I do remember how much I loved how unique it was back then. Additionally, this was one of the more tamer reads back then... Anyway, let's get into the review.

Discovery and Character Design:

Well, I found Secret Alliance when I was scrolling on YouTube (I must've searched up Yandere Male or something because this popped up). Now, to those who may not have read it, you may be asking, "Yandere Male, how can that be?" Well, unfortunately, you're going to have to read it to find out. Fortunately for those who don't want to read it, I will add a spoiler section. Originally, I also thought this was a GL, and to my surprise, it wasn't.  Especially on how pretty the two main female leads are. Eun Sian is the main character and has short baby blue hair that is unique, following her slightly darker blue eyes. I guess her having short hair is to make sure she does not draw attention to herself. In a way, in some people's eyes, she could look masculine or like a very brave woman, except she wasn't. She tends to be a fairly scared person and expresses confidence when she is with women. 

Yuri, the random girl who suddenly happened to become friends with her, is described quite differently. In some people's eyes, she is an innocent, feminine woman. She has long purple hair, along with her beaming purple eyes, and wears cute dresses, contrasting with Eun Seon. Yuri is a very energetic girl and often only shows affection to Seon. When other guys or girls approach her, she seems to show a dislike. In general, Yuri's appearance and personality give comfort to Seon.  

Another core character in the manhwa is the guy Hyun Yujin. He is Eun Sian's coworker and a playboy. He has long blonde hair put in a man bun and brown eyes. I believe his hair shows how much of a majestic character he is. He resembles a lion, and I actually feel that with his personality as well. He is a prideful individual and seems like a very loyal man to people he actually likes.  He is by far the only man Eun Seon has been the closest to and is able to form a friendship with. Bonus, he looks really good in the end chapters >.<.

The art style in this manhwa is amazing, and I believe the colours really suit the characters. Blue for Seon sort of expresses this innocence she has or timidness, whilst Yuri's purple can show that she can be overwhelming, and who knows, many Disney villains are symbolised with purple, so she may symbolise evil. Notably, Yujin has a welcoming aura around him because, I mean, who does not like a man bun? (Some people, but I'll ignore that. Bonus, his hair is also blonde and bright, which can create a sense of heroism because he is like the sun. This expresses how much thought Lero might have put into the characters, and I, for one, quite enjoy them. They are all very easy to recognise, like I could go "THE PURPLE ONE!!" and you would immediately get that I'm talking about Yuri, if you were reading the manhwa. 

What does it do well on?

Overall, I really liked this manhwa. The concepts, the ideas, they were all so well developed, and even the pacing! Like it didn't take millions of years to get to the end. Whilst some do well with long stories, I was glad this one was short. It just felt like each episode added more meaning and didn't have a lot of unnecessary things. Lero does an amazing job at developing her characters, and I was glad Seon started developing and healing her trauma. The ending, some may argue that they preferred another love interest, but I believe that who the main character ended up with was the best choice, and that the other guy had a better ending than the one he sought out for himself. By far, this manhwa does a great job of expressing suspense and a sense of uneasiness. I believe this would do well for a beginner's first suspense. It's not too messed up and has a little to no blood. So I would definitely recommend this for a beginner or even someone who enjoys yandere males. So if you're reading this post and you enjoy what you're reading, please go and read the manhwa!!

8.5/10

Byeeeee!!!! 

Spoiler Section
Read at your own risk!!!

Alright, to everyone who may or may not have read the manhwa, the fact that Yuri was her childhood friend who locked her in a shed due to her psycho mother wanting to move her away after finding out Chae Yul was Seon's boyfriend, blew my mind. He was generally so adorable as a kid. How did bro turn into a menace :(. I honestly enjoyed every single part. Unfortunately, I did not like the part where she just let Yuri do anything to her body when she was sad, like bro, you can't just let a girl touch you because you're sad!!! I know bro was having a fun time too, having all Seon's attention, but she was miserable as hell!

Oh, and okay, since I read this in year 8, the scene where he sneaks back into his room and starts doing some not-so-appropriate stuff, LITTLE ME THOUGHT BRO WAS HAVING A GODDAMNN FEVER, AND THAT'S WHY HE HAD SO MUCH TISSUES AND WAS BREATHING HEAVILY... Boy, was I wrong. It was funny when she caught him in the act, though. It would have been scary as hell, finally realising Yuri has been your ex-boyfriend all this time, but I can't stop laughing because I thought he was just blowing his nose.

In my opinion, I liked the ending for Chae Yul. Bro has shown willingness to change and gave up on pursuing Seon, letting her be with Yujin. Like he started to do manual labor and wrote a valid apology to her, like I'm actually happy he didn't pull out a ukulele, unlike someone. Honestly, this was insane, and I think I enjoy a hopeless Yandere that crossdresses hehe. 

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